Fig.1 shows the CS2 2's electrical impedance amplitude and phase, measured using the magazine's Audio Precision System One. Like all Thiel speakers, the value varies very little across the audio band. Note how low in amplitude the bass humps are. Apart from the bass, where the radiator tuning is apparent at a low 28Hz, the minimum value is 3.5 ohms at 120Hz, and the maximum 5.2 ohms at 4.3kHz. Although the CS2 2 requires an amplifier capable of driving 4 ohms, its sound will not change significantly in the midrange and treble as the amplifier output impedance…
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John Atkinson returned to the Thiel CS2 2 in October 1993 (Vol.16 No.10):
The natural comparison for the MartinLogan Aerius is the Thiel CS2 2, which I reviewed at the beginning of the year, and now suffers a slight price disadvantage since its recent price hike to $2750/pair. The beautifully engineered 2 2 is ST's other favorite speaker (when he can be torn away from his Advent Cheapskate Specials, that is).
Listening to the two pairs of speakers head to head, the Thiel's midbass is a bit fatter than that of the Aerius, which adds a pleasing bloom to the sound of bass…
Sidebar 4: Specifications
Description: Three-way, passive bass radiator-loaded (reflex), floor-standing loudspeaker. Drive-units: 1" (25mm) metal-dome tweeter, 3" (76mm) cone midrange unit, 8" (203mm) double-surface, plastic-cone woofer, 6" by 9" (155mm by 229mm) elliptical passive bass radiator. Crossover frequencies: 800Hz, 3kHz. Crossover slopes: first-order, 6dB/octave acoustic. Frequency response: 33Hz–27kHz ±3dB, 35Hz–20kHz ±2dB. Phase response: minimum ±5°. Time response: 150µs, –20dB. Sensitivity: 86dB/W/m (2.83V). Nominal impedance: 4 ohms (minimum 3 ohms). Amplifier…
Man, you've got to watch out for those preconceived notions—they'll kill you every time. For the last several years I've seen Plinius amplifiers at hi-fi shows and—even though I didn't know the first thing about the company or its products—figured that I knew what they were all about. Spotting their brawny façades festooned with feathery heatsinks, I smugly assured myself that they were some kind of antipodean pretender to the muscle-amp throne—Krell or Threshold wannabes.
Then Fanfare International's Scot Markwell cornered me at the 1996 Winter CES to ask if Stereophile would…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Stereo power amplifier with switchable class-a/class-AB output stage. Power output: 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 180Wpc into 4 ohms (19.5dBW). Bridged-mono output: 360Wpc into 8 ohms (25.6dBW). Dynamic headroom: 1dB or greater into 8 ohms with music. Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz, –0.1dB (0dB at 0Hz; –1dB at 120kHz). Phase response: –0° at 20Hz, –2° at 20kHz. Distortion: typically 0.02% THD and IMD at rated power; 0.1% THD and IMD, worst case prior to clipping. Saturation: 125Wpc or greater into 8 ohms. Voltage swing: 90V peak-peak per channel.…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Evolution 202: Solid-state preamplifier. Frequency responses: 20Hz–20kHz, ±0.02dB; 0.01Hz–1.5MHz, +0/–3dB. THD: <0.004%, 20Hz–20kHz at 4V or 4mA RMS. Signal/noise: >100dB wideband, unweighted; >109dB A-weighted (both at 4V or 4mA RMS). Input impedance: 45 ohms CAST (current mode operation), 95k ohms balanced, 47.5k ohms single-ended. Output impedance: >1M ohm CAST, 50 ohms balanced, 25 ohms single-ended. Input overload: 14mA RMS CAST, 14V RMS balanced, 7V RMS single-ended. Output overload: 16mA RMS CAST, 16V RMS balanced, 8V RMS single-ended. Gain:…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Source: Ayre C-5xe universal player, Krell Evolution 505 SACD/CD player.
Preamplifiers: Conrad-Johnson CT5, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista.
Power Amplifiers: Moscode 401HR, Musical Fidelity Nu-Vista 300.
Loudspeakers: Canton Vento Reference 1 DC, Dynaudio Confidence C4 & C1.
Cables: Interconnect: Shunyata Research Aries & Antares. Speaker: Shunyata Research Lyra.
Accessories: Furutech eTP-609 distribution box, FP-20A (R) duplex outlets, RDP panels; OSAR Selway/Magruder equipment racks; Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks.—Wes Phillips
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I don't have the necessary equipment to test the Krell components in their current-mode (CAST) operation. Therefore, I performed all the technical tests using conventional voltage-mode drive, in both balanced and unbalanced operation.
With its volume control set to "151," the Evolution 202 preamplifier offered maximum voltage gains of 11.8dB in full balanced mode, 5.75dB in unbalanced mode. Both modes preserved absolute polarity; ie, were noninverting. The volume control's unity-gain setting was "101" for balanced operation, "124" for unbalanced. The…
I see a pattern taking shape: Roy Gandy's Rega Research offered their first CD player in 1996, which was 13 years after the medium was introduced to the public. Now, in 2006, some 50 years after Joe Grado designed and sold the first moving-coil phono cartridges, Rega has released one of those. The year 2016 may see the first Rega fluoroscope, or perhaps wire recorder. And it'll be a good one, I'm sure.
It seems that Rega would be the last company on earth to do anything just because everyone else does; thus it comes as no real surprise that Rega would decline to make a moving-…
I noticed from the start that the Rega's spatial performance was stunning—especially for a product from a company known for being at least mildly dismissive of such concerns, but stunning in absolute terms as well. I heard imaging effects throughout XTC's Skylarking (Geffen GHS 24117) that had completely escaped me in the past—for example, how the rhythmic pattern played on the hi-hat in "Summer's Cauldron" is panned back and forth from left to right, in time with the beat!
Cisco Music's great new LP reissue of Jascha Heifetz and Gregor Piatigorsky's recording of Brahms' Double Concerto…